Adventures of Neko One shots
by Draco Regno-DragonKingdom
Summary: Oneshots and side stories from the "Adventures of Neko" series. Ratings will eventually change. Any AoN suggestions will be here!
1. Checkmate

**Checkmate**

"Checkmate."

"That's no fair, Bocchan!"

The fourteen year old tycoon merely smirked at his butler's teenage daughter.

"You lost Neko. My prize." He demanded.

The cat demon stood, ears twitching in irritation, "Of course, Bocchan." The girl walked up to him and pecked his cheek, the stormed back to her seat.

"That wasn't a proper kiss."

"You never specified."

"Now I am."

The ravenette growled and walked back over to him. Ciel smirked and pulled her close, "Checkmate." They leaned towards each other, eyes closed.

In the next instant they were separated, being held by their shirt collars.

"I accepted Pluto, Grell and Undertaker. You cannot start this with the young master as well." Sebastian scolded, setting them back down.

Neko rolled her eyes, "Hai, otōsan."

Ciel copied her gesture, "Honestly, Sebastian. It's just a kiss."

The demon's eyes narrowed and flashed, "The other three had started out as 'just a kiss' as well, young master."

Ciel froze and stared at Neko.

She shrugged, "What can I say? Watashiwa akuma; I'm a demon."

Ciel recomposed himself, "Well since I don't get my prize, how about another game?"

"You're on."


	2. At the Circus

**I don't normally write Author's Notes, but this suggestion was sent to me by** **Aservis Roturier** **. Obviously, I use cats a lot in my stories, I'm basically Sebastian, so it was suggested that I use Betty in a story(s). This short little thing was inspired by that, though I'm not sure if I'll be making it canon with the rest of the Adventures of Neko series. Anyways... don't hate; review and rate. And I'm always open to ideas and suggestions.**

Ciel sat in the higher rows of the audience, observing his two companions. When the tiger came out, he knew something was going to happen. He just wasn't sure what. Knowing his companions as he did, he watched them as the show progressed. When volunteers were called for, he was a bit surprised to find only his butler rise. In fact his second companion was currently leaning far back in her seat, practically lying in the lap of the person behind her (a mother), and looking utterly, well... bored. He was surprised at his butler's next actions, walking up to the large cat, though he probably shouldn't have been, but what bothered him more was Neko's unending indifference. He had expected joy, at a the sight of a cat (had she not coo'd over kittens with her father?), maybe even hostility, but he was a little shocked to see a complete absence of interest. Though he put his surprise aside when his butler was bitten for the second time by the tiger.

As they left the tent, and were eventually lead towards the doctor's tent by the ringleader, Ciel kept an eye on Neko. She seemed quite her normal self. She bounced at her father's side as she walked, whilst humming some foreign tune. All in all, she seemed her usual casually exuberant self. Before he could begin to question her on her indifference, Sebastian was once again causing a scene, riling up Beast and practically destroying the tent. However, when the chaos died down and Ciel went to speak to her, Neko was gone.

Frowning, he went off in search of her. He was once again surprised by the cat demon, for he found her by Betty the tiger's cage, whispering softly.

"I know how you feel, Betty-sama. My okaasan, my momma sent me off too. But it isn't so bad. I'm with my chichi, my father, and his bocchan. I live in a mansion now, that's even bigger then okaasan's temple. Maybe things will get better. Maybe you won't have to worry about Beast-sama for long. Maybe someone will take you somewhere better than here. Where you can be with new family and make new friends, and be in a place bigger than this whole circus."

The tiger growled softly, a gentle rumbling in her chest, and nudged Neko's nose with her own.

"I know it could. I can make it happen if you want."

Ciel almost laughed at the shock that crossed the large creatures face. He was not used to seeing facial expressions on a cat (that wasn't Neko), and it was highly comical. But he reeled in his chuckle and watched on, his interest growing.

"It's called a contract. It's a very special thing. I grant you a wish, anything you can dream of, and you sacrifice something to make it happen."

A soft grunt left the tigeress and Neko smiled.

"I get a chance to use my... gifts. Neko youkai are different from normal akuma. But that's not important."

Ciel almost laughed again when her voice dropped and became excessively serious and devious, an almost exact imitation of her father's. But what she said next cut him short.

"Would you like to enter a covenant with me?"

The tigress realeased a minute roar of approval.

"What will you sacrifice? What will you gain?"

Another roar, louder this time.

Neko smirked and her eyes glowed, and in that instant Ciel was back on the table and a chill shot through him, "As you wish it, it will be done."

Ciel was quick to dash to the carriage before anyone could see him.

Neko skipped back to her father's side, smiling brightly.

"Otousan, are we leaving?"

"Yes, little one. Where did you dash off to?"

"The cages. I didn't want to risk embarrassing bocchan earlier, so I went to see Betty on my own."

"Oh really? Well, let us return to the young master. There have been a few changes in our plans.

As they rode back to the town house, Ciel's mind was not on the children, but Neko's conversation with Betty. Unknown to either of them, her thoughts mimicked his own.

 ** _What will you sacrifice? What will you gain?_**

 _I sacrifice my current family! I gain my freedom!_

 ** _As you wish it, so it shall be._**

Neko sighed as she looked out the window. _As you wish it, so it shall be, master._

 **A quick look into Neko's character. More will be revealed in the third part of Neko's story,** ** _His Butler, Celebrating_** **.**


	3. A Day with Pluto

**Ah, the miniseries I've been waiting to do. Part one of "A day and A night".**

 **This is the story of the day Neko became Pluto's official caretaker. Takes place between "His Butler, Shocked" and "His Butler, Instructing".**

Neko was not unused to the smell of burning trees. Or grass. Or really any form of plant life that could be found on the grounds of the manor. So it was not the acrid sent of burnt and dying plants that made the child's nose crinkle up. Instead it was the irritating smell of wet dog. Pluto had once again gotten a bit too excited and whenever that happened, he seemed to be unable to control his fire. Finny had had the brilliant idea to very nearly drown the poor beast in water, to cool him down. Luckily, it had been an effective plan and it also put out most of the fires. However, now Neko had the horrid scent of wet dog in her nose, and she couldn't escape it.

It didn't help that the sopping beast had refused to leave her side. So not only was the smell irritating her, but the whiny beast at her side was starting to push the five year olds buttons a little too hard. So she attempted to escape into the house. Sebastian wouldn't let Pluto in, especially now that he was soaking wet, and she could have some peace. How Ciel managed not to kill his servants the child would never know.

Trying her best not to draw the attention of the half asleep hell hound beside her, Neko stood and walked away with purposefully exaggerated slowness. One sudden move and she could be stuck under Pluto's giant paw, being snuggled to death. Her little charade actually managed to get her into the manor, and far from the drowsy dog.

The moment she made it inside, she slammed the giant doors of the entrance behind her and stood with her back against them, in case Pluto decided to attempt to run inside. After peeking to make sure the beast still slept, Neko turned back around only to be face to face with her father.

"Ah! Otousan! Don't do that." The younger demon grumbled, clutching her chest and glaring at Sebastian.

The red eyed demon smirked, "What are you up to, Neko dear?"

"I'm hiding from Pluto."

The butler but his hand to his chin, his expression thoughtful, "Yes, he does seem to be rather entranced by you. I find it quite surprising really. I had thought for sure you two would hate each other..."

"Well that doesn't really help me, Otousan."

"But it helps me. Ever since you arrived, my dear, he has taken to bothering you and not me, so I'm now able to get my work done without that one additional distraction. In addition, he obeys you far more readily than he does me, and that is saying quite a lot."

"Hmph. It's still annoying."

"Well, occasionally in life we have to put up with annoying things."

A crash echoed through the manor and Mei-Rin's voice screeched to their ears, "Mr. Sebastian!"

The butler sighed, "For example..." Neko giggled and Sebastian stroked the top of her head, "Oh the things I must do for my master." Neko's smile grew as another crash followed the first and Finny's childish voice joined Mei-Rin's. Sebastian sighed once more and turned to his daughter, "Why don't you go visit with the young master. He may enjoy an excuse not to actually work."

Neko nodded, "Hai!" With a salute, she headed up the large staircase to Ciel's study.

With three knocks to a beat, 1-34, to differentiate between Sebastian's three quick knocks,123-, Neko stepped into the room. She was not surprised to find her bocchan playing with cards instead of working on the stack of paperwork piled beside him. He glanced up when she walked in and smiled, just barely, but enough for her to recognize it. She skipped over to his desk and moved the papers to a shelf across the room. Then she lifted herself effortlessly onto the wooden surface.

"Ohayou, bocchan."

"Good morning to you, Neko. What was the problem with Pluto this morning?"

"Finny got him hyped up. And you know how that hellish hound is when he gets excited. So Finny dumped a great deal of water on him. It worked. He's asleep, so I snuck away."

"The beast really seems to like you. Surprising, really. I always thought cats and dogs didn't get along."

"Well, it really only happens because most neko won't put up with an inu's annoying behavior. I'm simply more at ease than most. At least, that's what I tell myself every morning."

"Well, it seems to work well with Pluto. In fact, this gives me an idea."

"What is it?" Neko observed the earl, or hakushaku, warily.

"I think I'll make you Pluto's official caretaker."

"Bocchan!"

Ciel chuckled, "It will be your job to keep him in line. You've managed alright so far. And I can't leave everything up to Sebastian. Now you have an official title here. Finny is the gardener, Bard's the cook, Mei-Rin's the maid, Tanaka is the steward, Sebastian's my butler, and you are... hmmm..."

Neko tilted her head a bit and tapped her chin, "Well, I suppose I'm the nanny of the guard dog."

Ciel smirked, "Well, that's an interesting title. Yes. You'll be the nanny of the guard dog of Phantomhive manor." Neko laughed and stretched out across the desk, sending cards flying. Ciel rolled his eyes and she smiled.

Neko spent the next few hours talking with Ciel about past cases and past adventures. When the time came for Ciel to have lunch, Neko went out to feed Pluto. When she walked out, Pluto was sitting on the front steps in his human form, waiting obediently for her. With a sigh, she led him inside and had Bard change him into his suit. While he and the other servants ate, Neko went out to roam the gardens. Sebastian had, by then, cleared all the damaged foliage and regrown the garden. Neko shook her head with a sigh. How the others didn't suspect him to be something more than human, she'd never understand. They couldn't possibly be that dense.

After a while, Neko noticed a presence following her and she turned around to find Pluto lurking about, still in his human form. She looked at him and snapped for him to join her. With a bark, Pluto ran over. He sat beside her in the grass and she stroked the top of his head. He barked again and leaned into her hand and she smiled. The two spent the rest of the afternoon lazing about like their animal halves. When Sebastian finally went searching for Neko to prepare her for bed, her found her and Pluto sleeping beside the rose bushes. With a smile, he lifted Neko to bring her inside. Pluto opened one eye lazily, and upon noticing Sebastian, sat up. The butler held a finger to his lips and the suit-clad Pluto kept silent. When Sebastian carried Neko inside, Pluto shifted into his hound form and moved to his new sleeping place under Neko's window.


	4. A Day with Grell

**Part Two of "A day and A night".**

 **This is the story of how Neko met Grell. And a few of our other favorite reapers.** **Takes place between "His Butler, Shocked" and "His Butler, Instructing".**

It was a seemingly ordinary day. Finny had damaged another one of Ciel's canes in his excitement, and Neko had been allowed to head into town with Ciel and Sebastian to get a new one. She had been allotted an allowance by Ciel, his reason being that she should learn about money despite her age, so she also carried a little purple pouch on her wrist that jingled with coins as she skipped beside her father. The storekeeper at the cane maker's had learn previously to watch what he said around Ciel, but he was rather interested in Neko's peculiar appearance.

"Are those real?" he asked, jerking his head at Neko's ears and tail.

Sebastian observed him for a moment, then looked at his daughter.

"Neko, dear?"

Her ears twitched in response to hearing her father call her name. Her tail waved slightly in the air, "Yes?"

"Are your ears and tail real? This gentleman is rather curious."

The demon child smiled a fanged smile and used her tail to pick up Ciel's new cane, "Well, why don't we let him decide?" Handing the cane to her bocchan, Neko skipped out of the shop. The man was a bit shocked, but made the decision never to ask questions around these two again. Ciel left to join Neko outside, while Sebastian paid for the cane and disappeared with a bow.

"I can sense that you're eager to spend your money, my dear. So where would you like to go first?" Sebastian asked a very hyper Neko.

She stopped and looked at Ciel, "I don't know..."

The earl shrugged, "Why not the sweets shop?"

"Great idea, bocchan! Maybe I'll get some Funtom sweets..."

Sebastian shook his head and followed the two children into the sweets store. Ciel had suggested the place simply because of his uncontrollable sweet tooth, Sebastian was sure. The butler watched as both of his children, because what else would his young master be called, scurried around the store. Neko was eagerly looking for sweets she'd never tried before, and Ciel merely stated that he was doing "market research". Eventually, Neko approached her father.

"Otousan? I'm not quite sure... how much I can get."

"Well, come Neko. We will see. Look here," the butler pointed to a jar of candies, "This little label says that each one costs one coin. This container over here says that the sweets cost two." Neko nodded slowly, staring wide eyed at the price tags. So that was how money worked!

Content with her new knowledge, the little kitten returned to searching for sweets. Ciel had already purchased a large amount of candy, much to Sebastian's irritation, and was already eating a great deal of his spoils. Neko eventually returned to the pair, holding her still full pouch and three Funtom lollipops. Sebastian directed her to the counter, where she carefully counted out the amount she needed and paid for her candy.

When the three of them left, Neko wanted to spend some more time walking around, so they began to head further from the shopping district. Eventually they reached an area of town that Sebastian was eager to get them out of. But a flash of red caught his eye and he was forced to jump out of the way as Grell shot at him with her chainsaw.

"Hello, Bassy! I see you're still with the brat." The red loving reaper said with a shark toothed grin. But then she noticed the additional child and jumped back to get a better view, "You have another one? Where do you keep getting them? How many brats do you have?"

Sebastian's eyebrow ticked, "Grell, this is my daughter, Neko. I would appreciate it if you didn't call her a brat."

"Hmph, daughter?" she bent down to get a closer look, "Oh! She is like a little Bassy! What a darling little thing!"

Ciel and Sebastian noticed that Neko was staring at the reaper very hard. Grell hadn't seemed to notice, but the other two were a bit curious as to why her look was so intense.

Finally, the girl spoke, "You're pretty."

Grell squealed, "Oh thank you darling! You know, it takes forever to do my make up and get my hair just right. At least someone notices." The reaper glared pointedly at Sebastian, who completely ignored her.

Neko gently touched the reapers death scythe, "What is this?"

"Oh, it's my death scythe, sweetie. I use it to reap the souls of the deceased. I'm a grim reaper."

"Grim reaper? Ah, shinigami!"

Grell smiled, "Ah, so you come from Japan, little Bassy."

"Hai. And my name is Neko."

"Oh, and you're a little kitten too! How adorable. I know that Japanese demons and reapers have a very different relationship than the ones here."

Neko nodded, "I knew a shinigami named Uta. He used a lute to call the souls out. He and the other members of his dispatch society let me watch a mass reaping. They taught me all about death. And they told me their stories. It was very sad... I miss them though."

Grell nodded, "I know. Sometimes death can be a sad thing, especially in the case of shinigami. But-."

Grell was caught off by a pair of hedge clippers shooting between her and Neko. Instead of jumping back on her own, she grabbed Neko and yanked her out of the way. William followed his death scythe, and Ronald followed behind William.

"Grell Sutcliffe, please explain why you are in the presence of this filth." The stern reaper said.

Neko frowned as Sebastian and William glared at each other. Ronald looked utterly bored, until he noticed Neko.

"Hey, who's this little thing?"

Grell flipped her hair over her shoulder, still holding Neko, "This is Neko. She's a little gem, isn't she?"

Ronald nodded, "Yeah, I guess she's adorable."

William scowled, "Mr. Sutcliffe co-."

"Miss." Neko corrected.

William frowned, "What?"

"It's Miss Sutcliffe."

William sighed and adjusted his glasses, "I apologize, but Mr. Su-"

"Miss."

"Mr. Sutcliffe is quite obviously a male."

"Miss Sutcliffe is quite obviously a woman."

William sighed once again and opened his mouth to continue, when Neko completely turned from him and looked at Grell.

"Grell, are you a woman?"

"Of course! But no one seems to see it."

Neko's face screwed up, "I'll help you then. It is a neko's job to spread happiness!"

Ronald laughed and Sebastian shook his head. William reached over to drag Grell away by her hair, but Neko quite violently hissed and snapped at him. Sebastian had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing and Ciel smirked at the reapers.

Grell smiled at Neko, "Well, sweetie, I think it's time for me to go. But I'll be back to see you, little thing. We're gal pals now, right?"

"Hai!" Neko said with a sharp nod and a fierce expression on her face. And with that, Grell set the demon child down and walked off behind a peeved William and snickering Ronald.


	5. A Day with Undertaker

**Part three in "A day and A night".**

 **The story of how Neko meets Undertaker. Takes place between "His Butler, Shocked" and "His Butler, Instructing".**

It was a foggy day, not the best for a trip into town, but the day they were going, nonetheless. Ciel was working on a small case for the Queen, a string of murders occuring in the poorer parts of London, so he and Sebastian had made plans to visit the Undertaker. Of course, Neko being the curious cat that she was, demanded to go with them. She had only been to London once, and that was on a good day. She wanted to see what it would be like with the spooky fog draped over everything.

So the trio set off towards town in a carriage. Neko bounced, eagerly staring out of the window. She was quite interested in the fog. It made everything far more ominous than it would normally be, so that a simple trip out into the gardens seemed like a scene from a horror novel. The morbid demon side of her was quite thrilled by this, while the childish part simply liked the way the fog looked. She was even more excited to see the Undertaker. Grell had told her that he was a very respected and famous reaper, although he was retired now. Ciel had claimed that he was a a bit of a psychopath, with a strange obsession with death. Sebastian had nearly refused to speak about him, because "frankly, I don't like him at all". When the curious kitten had asked why, he simply mumbled that it "should be quite obvious", but then he seemed to recall something and shook his head and sent her off to help Finny.

Either way, Neko was nearly bursting with excitement. He sounded like a very interesting person, and Neko adored interesting people, like Grell and the reapers. So when they finally arrived at the shop, she was the first one out. She stood in front of the shop, while her father and bocchan exited the carriage, and stared. The building, she was sure, would have definitely looked spooky on a bright, normal day. But today, with the menacing swirl of fog around her, the shop gave her chills. Pleasant chills, but chills nonetheless. Nearly quivering with anticipation, Neko stood beside her father as they entered the shop.

"Undertaker!" Ciel spoke loudly in the dark gloom of the room. Neko stared with wide eyes around the shop. It was as creepy a place as Grell had said. There was a skeleton, which from the smell was quite real, and assorted jars and containers lining the walls. Deserting her father's side, Neko wandered over to a wall to examine the jars' contents. She was both pleased and disgusted when she found out that a great deal of the containers held body parts floating in formaldehyde. Having lost interest, she turned to examine the coffins when the one beside her creaked open. She peered inside and was met with the pale, half covered face of the Undertaker. With a childish shriek, she dashed away, hiding behind her father's tailcoat and restraining her giggles. Sebastian shook his head while Ciel sighed.

Undertaker removed himself from the coffin, "Ah, Little Earl. I see you've brought additional company today. Are you here to try out one of my coffins?" Neko was most fascinated by his grin. It was quite wide, and a bit menacing when he said things like that, but he seemed to be snickering, so she wasn't quite sure if she could take him seriously. Either way, Ciel shook his head.

"I'm quite certain you already know why I'm here."

"Why of course. I've had a bit more customers this past month, and I was wondering when you were going to come see me. Give me a moment while I go make some tea."

Neko observed the dark cloaked reaper as he wandered off into a back room. Ciel and Sebastian situated themselves inside the room, and she returned to exploring. Only now, she was quite interested in the coffins.

"Be careful, Neko." Sebastian said softly when he saw what had caught his child's eye this time.

"Hai, otousan." She made her way around the room, setting her hands lightly on the wood, curious about the textures. When Undertaker returned, she immediately asked, "Did you make these?"

The silver haired mortician nodded, his usual smile a bit softer, and not as wide, "It's part of what I do. I build them, fill them, and bury them."

"Hmm... is there anyone inside of these ones?"

"Neko..." Ciel said, his tone slightly irritated.

"Well, not at the moment." Undertaker said with a laugh. Then he turned to the earl, "Now, Little Earl, you know my price."

Neko looked at her father, "Price?"

Sebastian nodded at her confusion, "The Undertaker provides information, but at the cost of a first rate laugh."

"That's right, little one. So, Earl, what do you have for me today?"

Ciel thought for a moment, then smirked slightly, "Neko, seeing as you were so eager to join us today, why don't you try?"

Neko smiled, "Me?"

Ciel nodded, "Of course."

Neko observed Undertaker for a moment, "Hmm... I don't have any jokes... how about..." Neko tapped her chin for a moment, "Hmm, I'll tr-" Something brushed her arm and she jumped. She was briefly startled, but it was enough to draw a snicker out of Undertaker. Realizing it was her own tail that had startled her, the child started giggling. Sebastian and Ciel looked at her curiously, and their expressions fueled her laughter. What had been very high childish giggles turned into full blown laughter, and Neko dropped to the floor. Undertaker was chuckling at the entire ordeal, but exploded into laughter when Neko gasped out, "I... scared... my...self!" The pair's insane laughter brought down the sign outside, and the resulting thud frightened the kitten again, which made them both laugh even harder. Sebastian sighed and shook his head, while Ciel rolled his eyes.

"They're both insane..." The blue eyed boy muttered.

Sebastian observed his child, who was writhing about the filthy floor laughing exuberantly with the silver headed mad man, "I'm afraid you might be correct."

Slowly the two calmed down, fading into the occasional snicker and sigh. Undertaker rose from the floor, gently bringing Neko up to join him, and brushed off his robes, "Ah, Mister Butler, your daughter might have beaten you. That was the best laugh I've had in ages."

Ciel cleared his throat, "The bodies?"

"Of course. There are a few things they have in common. One, they're all women. Two, they are all around the same age. But the most important thing is, they're all related." Undertaker revealed.

Ciel put his finger to his chin, "So the killer is targeting this family..."

Undertaker chuckled, "Apart from that, there's nothing else remarkable about their deaths. Most were killed from behind, as I can tell by the way their throats were slit. One or two had wounds on their heads, suggesting the killer attempted to knock them unconscious first. There are no signs of anything being done to the bodies before or after death, and no alcohol has been found in the women's blood streams."

Ciel looked down and prepared to leave, "I see... Come, Sebastian, Neko. We're leaving."

Sebastian rose with his master and the two approached the door, but Neko stayed put. She turned to the ex-reaper and frowned, "Undertaker?"

The mortician tilted his head slightly and his ever present smile softened once more, "What do you need, Little Butler?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"After such a good laugh, you can ask me as many as you want."

Neko frowned, "Why are your bangs so long? Doesn't that make it harder to see?"

"Not at all, dearie. I can see perfectly well. But I have a few... battle scars I keep hidden under here."

Neko's eyes lit up with curiosity, "Can I see?"

Undertaker smiled, "Of course."

Ciel and Sebastian stepped outside to wait for a new carriage, though Sebastian did throw Undertaker a warning look the mortician didn't miss.

Neko to beckoned Undertaker, and he crouched down in front of her. She gently moved his bangs out of his face. She smiled when she saw his easily recognizable green and gold eyes, but frowned a little at the long stitched up scar covering his face. Rather than make him look frightening, she found it added to his appeal. Her little fingers gently traced the scar, gently passing over his left eye and making patterns over the stitches that marked his dangerous days as a reaper. That's when she noticed a bit of a similar scar on his neck.

"How many have you got?"

"Plenty enough, Little Demon."

"Can I see those ones, too?"

The silverette smiled, "Maybe when you're older. Now, your Papa is waiting for you outside, and we both know that he isn't too fond of me."

The kitten frowned, "Why?"

"Reapers and demons have never gotten along on this side of the earth. We don't have the bond your people formed. Reapers view demons as lowlife thieves, and often times they act like it. Demons view reapers as nuisances. Even respectful and high class demons like your father don't trust reapers. I never really cared for that all that animosity. I'd much rather laugh about it." he ended with a snicker.

The little demoness giggled hugged her newest reaper friend, "I'll come back to see you!"

"I'll make sure to have some tea ready."

They smiled one last time at each other, then Neko skipped out of the shop to join her companions once more.


	6. Ideas Please!

Looking for ideas for this and my other normal Kuro oneshots collection! Message me or comment if you have any!


	7. Neko Drabbles 1

**Lullaby**

Some nights, when she's especially restless, Neko will venture into her father's room. There she will request a lullaby. No matter the true nature of the song, whether it represents destruction, or plague, or death, just the sound of her father's voice soothes the young demoness, as if it has always been this way. Some nights he will sing _London Bridge_ , some nights it is _Who killed Cock Robin?_ , and others still he will sing a song in an ancient language that Neko cannot speak, but understands in her heart. Those are the nights she stays in his room until morning; the other nights he returns her to her bed. On these nights, they do not sleep. Instead, power crackles in the air and Neko finds overwhelming comfort in her father's presence. No matter the weather outside, or the temperature within the manor, Neko feels warm and safe on these nights when she and her father revel in Sebastian's hidden power. These are the nights when he tells her, in that strange ancient language, that she too will one day have power like this, maybe even more. Even though they do not sleep, on the morning after such nights, both demons feel strong and well rested. Neko will often trail her father on days such as these; she might not leave his side at all on these days. It is silently agreed between them to continue with these nights for as long as possible. And when the day comes when Neko no longer needs a lullaby to sleep, Sebastian calls her for one of his own. And Neko sings to him in a language she has not sung in in a long time. And on that night, they remember her mother with varying degrees of fondness.

 **Mornings**

Mornings in the Phantomhive household are busy for the servants of the manor. Neko considers herself to be one of them now. She has her own duties and chores, and she attends to them diligently as she has been taught to by her father. As little legs grow longer, Neko's mornings become less busy, as her speed mimics her father's and her workload is lessened a great deal faster. She spends these extra moments preparing better tea for her young master, and planning extra time for herself for the day. After she matures, mornings are not as busy as before. But nights become a different story.

 **Identity**

At first, Neko didn't know what to think. She had finally become a mature demoness. She could finally be her own person. But she was unsure who to become. Since arriving in England, she had made it a habit to mimic her father, and she was not sure she wished to mimic her mother's outlandish and lecherous behavior, despite her father's idea that she already had. She did enjoy stealing her father's infamously repeated phrases at just the right moments, but it now seemed a game for children. And she was most certainly no longer a child. So Neko began to attempt to figure out who she was. She mimicked Bard, Finny, and Mei-Rin on occasion, but none of their personalities fit her. She mimicked Grell, but ended that quickly as her redheaded best friend was not the best role model. She even attempted Ciel's cold and aloof attitude, but found it incredibly dull. She thought of the different people she knew, and decided none of them fit who she wanted to be. Then the idea hit her. How could she have missed it? It was part of her at all times. She was reminded of her nature whenever someone spoke her name. She felt it in her attitude, her behavior, even the way she moved. Was it not in her very being to act as such? And besides, what better identity was there to have than that of a cat?

 **Ridiculous**

Neko quite easily understood how Ciel became so easily exasperated with Elizabeth. She was a vibrant, extreme, bright bundle of joy; Ciel's exact opposite most of the time. But she also understood why he kept her around despite the dangers of his position. She was _his_ joy, and sometimes he needed a reminder of exactly why he had entered the contract in the first place. She was what had been stolen from him. Neko could see that thought clearly whenever his eyes fell on her. But she could also see that he loved her.

But that didn't mean she had to put up with her behavior. She was not a child and despite her father's insistance, she was not going to put on the florescent bundle of cloth Elizabeth was attempting to force her into. Ciel's happiness be damned, and it basically was, she was not putting on that **_ridiculous_** \- oh alright. Yes, Neko understood perfectly how easy it was to become exaspearated with Lady Elizabeth.

 **Sick**

Neko never thought she could get sick. Sure, part of her was human, but more of her was demon! But that didn't stop the poor thing from catching the flu. The kitten was bundled up in her father's bed, because he wanted to be able to keep an eye on her, coughing, sneezing, and vomiting up anything she was fed. It seemed the demonic part of her might have even increased her suffering, because the flu had so far lasted a good two weeks, and Ciel was even contemplating sending for a doctor. And Sebastian was close to agreeing. But just as the two were ready to make the call, Neko's flu disappeared. One moment, she was suffering in her father's bed, the next she was far to hot wrapped up in all those blankets and she demanding an omelet and thick toast. Of course, in that moment, her sickness passed onto the other four servants, her father excluded, and Neko understood why she could sick. It started with the flu, but perhaps one day, she could upstage her father, the demon who started the Black Plague, and spread a disease even more destructive. Of course, at the thought, Neko felt her sickness returning. Perhaps her father could hold on that omelet and toast...


End file.
